Author Archives: snitchthebudgie

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About snitchthebudgie

Secretary of the East Surrey N Gauge railway club

Coupling springs have sprung

This very useful tip appeared in the NRMA British Region magazine.  Most useful for those of us with Microtrains couplers, but now Dapol buckeyes are around it may also apply to them.  It was published under the wonderful title of … Continue reading

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Off my trolley – San Pedro

At the end of one line from LA and Watts were San Pedro and LA Harbour.  In the days of large ocean liners, collecting passengers from the liner and transporting them into LA generated a lot of traffic through San Pedro. San … Continue reading

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An easier way to ballast your track?

Lance Mindheim  may have come up with a really good idea here…. Effectively applying ballast glue is a challenge at best.  The more powdery soils and small gauge products even more so.  The problem comes with application of the adhesive, … Continue reading

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ESNG meeting – 17 June 2015 – and AGM coming

We seem to be having a run of slow meetings.  On Wednesday only two of us were there between 7 and 7:30, to be joined by the Cha(i)rman who had been doing some accidental babysitting.  Four others arrived after 8, … Continue reading

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Direct train to Europe

This is a good post to follow our Berlin adventures, and explains why we had to fly EasyJet rather than get a direct train London-Berlin.  In this article, the BBC looks at the new Eurostar service to Marseille and gives some … Continue reading

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The Bartlett’s in Berlin – 3

The area around the Warschauer Str. terminus is of both railway and historic interest.  Behind the station itself is this small maintenance shed, and a large carriage shed.  I don’t think Lidl are now operating trains!  Although I didn’t see any trains enter the … Continue reading

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The Bartlett’s in Berlin – 2

Just next to the Warstrauer Str. U-Bahn station was the S-Bahn station and the DB main lines.  I suppose in UK London terms, the U-Bahn is like London Underground, whilst the S-Bahn is more like London commuter trains – the … Continue reading

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The Bartlett’s in Berlin – 1

Maxine and I recently spent a long weekend in Berlin, visiting our eldest daughter.  We thoroughly enjoyed Berlin, despite having chosen to visit the same weekend as the Champion’s League (football) final.  It’s an interesting city, the greenest in Europe, with all those Cold … Continue reading

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Why do layouts fail?

Good words from Lance Mindheim: When I work with a design client, one question I always ask is why previous layouts didn’t get off the ground and gain critical mass.  After almost fifteen years the answers haven’t changed.  The three … Continue reading

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Off my trolley – Pacific Electric to Watts – 3

Finally, could one model the northern end, at Oscar’s junction, or the southern end, at Watts, of the four-track main line?  The prototype track layouts below are taken from the Model Railroader article.  Both have real potential as stand-alone layouts, but … Continue reading

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